World Notes

Twice the House of Commons had passed a bill allowing prosecution in Britain of suspected Nazi war criminals. And twice the House of Lords had rejected it, arguing that such ex post facto legislation was a violation of Anglo-Saxon legal precepts. So last week the government invoked a rare constitutional process to override the Lords' objections and ensure enactment of the War Crimes Bill, which is expected to be signed into law by Queen Elizabeth this week.

It was the most dramatic test of will between the two houses of Parliament in 42 years. At issue was the fate of an unknown number of Nazi collaborators who immigrated to Britain after World War II. Previously they could only be charged with war crimes in Britain if they were British citizens when they committed their offenses. Lord Shawcross, Britain's chief prosecutor at Nuremberg, railed against the bill when it was sent to the Queen above the peers' protest. "This is not a house of wimps," he declared. "It is the House of Lords. We are expected by the public to express our view honestly and clearly."